Methods and Systems for Controlling Levels of Geolocation Access

ABSTRACT

A communication device may be configured to control access to geolocation services for applications on the communication device utilizing a first privacy access level setting that enables access to the geolocation services when selected, a second privacy access level setting that disables access to the geolocation services when selected, and other privacy access level settings that are different from, and fall between, the first privacy access level setting and the second privacy access level setting, and enable one time access to the geolocation services for the communication device when selected. The applications can include applications on the communication device that are managed and/or handled by a particular application service provider. The privacy access level settings comprise an anonymous one-time access and a non-anonymous one-time access.

BACKGROUND

Applications and/or web based services generally utilize geolocationinformation to provide, for example, location based services such asdirections and localized advertisements, shopping and/or other services.A user of a communication device running such applications may only havethe capability to turn access to a location of the device on or off.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present disclosureas set forth in the remainder of the present application with referenceto the figures.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a method is described. The method may comprise, on acommunication device: controlling access to geolocation services for oneor more applications utilizing multiple privacy access level settings.The multiple privacy access level settings may include: a first privacyaccess level setting that, when selected, enables access to thegeolocation services; a second privacy access level setting that, whenselected, disables access to the geolocation services; and at least onethird privacy access level setting that is intermediate to the firstprivacy access level setting and the second privacy access levelsetting, the at least one third privacy access level setting, that whenselected, enables one time access to the geolocation services for thecommunication device.

In another aspect, a system is described. The system may comprise atleast one processor for use in a communication device. The system mayalso comprise data storage comprising instructions executable by the atleast one processor to cause the system to perform functions. Thefunctions may comprise controlling access to geolocation services forone or more applications utilizing multiple privacy access levelsettings. The multiple privacy access level settings may include: afirst privacy access level setting that, when selected, enables accessto the geolocation services, a second privacy access level setting that,when selected, disables access to the geolocation services, and at leastone third privacy access level setting that is intermediate to the firstprivacy access level setting and the second privacy access levelsetting, the at least one third privacy access level setting, that whenselected, enables one time access to the geolocation services for thecommunication device.

In yet another aspect, a computer readable device having stored thereoninstructions, that when executed by a computing device, cause thecomputing device to perform functions is described. The functions maycomprise controlling access to geolocation services for one or moreapplications utilizing multiple privacy access level settings. Themultiple privacy access level settings may include: a first privacyaccess level setting that, when selected, enables access to thegeolocation services; a second privacy access level setting that, whenselected, disables access to the geolocation services; and at least onethird privacy access level setting that is intermediate to the firstprivacy access level setting and the second privacy access levelsetting, the at least one third privacy access level setting, that whenselected, enables one time access to the geolocation services for thecommunication device.

These and other advantages, aspects and features of the presentdisclosure, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof,will be more fully understood from the following description andfigures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system for providing controlover the level of geolocation access, in accordance with an embodimentof the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates example remote services and amobile communication device that is operable to provide control over thelevel of geolocation access, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates example privacy access levelsettings for geolocation services on a communication device, inaccordance with various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram that illustrates example privacy access levelsettings for geolocation services on a communication device, inaccordance with various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram that illustrates example privacy access levelsettings for geolocation services on a communication device, inaccordance with various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart that illustrates example functions forcontrolling access to geolocation services utilizing a sliding scale ofprivacy access levels, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments of the disclosure may be found in a method andsystem for control over the level of geolocation access. In variousaspects of the disclosure, a communication device may be operable orconfigured to control access to geolocation services for one or moreapplications utilizing a sliding scale of privacy access levelscomprising more than two privacy access level settings. The privacyaccess level settings may comprise a first privacy access level settingthat, when selected, enables access to geolocation services, a secondprivacy access level setting that, when selected, disables access togeolocation services, and at least one third privacy access levelsetting that is intermediate to the first privacy access level settingand the second privacy access level setting. The at least one thirdprivacy access level setting, when selected, enables one time access togeolocation services for the communication device. The one or moreapplications may comprise applications on the communication device thatare handled and/or managed by a particular application service provider.The at least one third privacy access level setting comprises ananonymous one-time access and a non-anonymous one-time access.

It should be understood, however, that while various functions hereinmay be described as “anonymous” or “non-anonymous,” selection data, suchas selection data relating to a selection of a privacy access levelsetting, may not be tethered to the identity of individual users of thecommunication device. Further, users of the communication device mayelect not to participate in non-anonymous data collection.

One or more dialogs, one or more radio buttons and/or a graphicalinterface may be generated on a display of the communication device toenable selection of the first privacy access level setting, the secondprivacy access level setting, and the at least one third privacy accesslevel setting. The generated one or more dialogs, one or more radiobuttons and/or graphical interfaces may be provided on the display ofthe mobile communication device when the one or more applications arebeing installed and/or updated, and/or when an action to changecorresponding settings for the one or more applications is detected.Information corresponding to the first privacy access level setting, thesecond privacy access level setting, and the at least one third privacyaccess level setting may be stored in the memory in order to create ahistory of prior privacy access level settings for each of the one ormore applications. A particular one of the first privacy access levelsetting, the second privacy access level setting, and the at least onethird privacy access level setting may be assigned to be utilized forthe one or more applications based on the history of prior privacyaccess level settings. A particular one of the first privacy accesslevel setting, the second privacy access level setting, and the at leastone third privacy access level setting may be assigned as a defaultprivacy access level setting for the one or more applications. Thedefault privacy access level setting may be assigned to each of the oneor more applications when none of the one or more privacy access levelsettings is selected to be utilized as a corresponding privacy accesslevel setting for each of the one or more applications on thecommunication device that are handled and/or managed by the particularapplication service provider.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system for providing controlover the level of geolocation access, in accordance with an embodimentof the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a mobilecommunication device 102, a web-connected television 104, a tablet 106,a service provider 108, the Internet 110, a web server 118, a Cloud 112,store application server 114, global navigation satellite system (GNSS)116 and an application service provider (ASP) 120.

The mobile communication device 102 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to handle wiredand/or wireless communication. For example, the mobile communicationdevice 102 may be operable to communicate using Ethernet, WWAN, WLAN,WPAN and/or other communication standards. The mobile communicationdevice 102 may be operable to handle geolocation services or locationbased services based on a sliding scale of different privacy accesslevels for application on the mobile communication device 102 that arehandled and/or managed by a particular application service provider. Themobile communication device 102 may receive communication services suchas Internet based services via the service provider 108. The mobilecommunication device 102 may comprise a GNSS receiver that may beoperable to receive navigational signals from the GNSS 116. Thenavigational signals may be utilized to determine a position and/orlocation of the mobile communication device 102. The determined positionand/or location may be utilized by various applications and/or servicesto provide geolocation services or location based services that arespecific to the mobile communication device 102.

The mobile communication device 102 may comprise an operating systemplatform that comprises integrated capability to provide user controlover the level of geolocation access, other than merely enabling ordisabling access to geolocation services. In accordance with variousembodiments of the disclosure, the operating system platform comprises aplatform-level module that enables a user of the mobile communicationdevice 102 to select a privacy access level from a sliding scale ofdifferent privacy access levels for the various geolocation servicesthat may be accessible.

The web-connected television 104 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive traditionaltelevision services as well as communicate via the Internet 110. Theweb-connected television 104 may be operable to handle geolocationservices or location based services based on a sliding scale ofdifferent privacy access levels for application on the web-connectedtelevision 104 that are handled and/or managed by a particularapplication service provider. In accordance with various embodiments ofthe disclosure, the location of the web-connected television 104 may bedetermined based on, for example, information stored in theweb-connected television 104 and/or from devices that may be within thevicinity of the web-connected television 104 that may have a knowndetermined location. For example, the location of a neighboring accesspoint or router may be known and utilized to determine the location ofthe web-connected television 104. In some instances, as user of theweb-connected television 104 may specify the address of theweb-connected television 104 when setting up the web-connectedtelevision 104.

The web-connected television 104 may comprise an operating systemplatform that comprises integrated capability to provide user controlover the level of geolocation access, other than merely enabling ordisabling access to geolocation services. In accordance with variousembodiments of the disclosure, the operating system platform comprises aplatform-level module that enables a user of the web-connectedtelevision 104 to select a privacy access level from a sliding scale ofdifferent privacy access levels for the various geolocation servicesthat may be accessible.

The tablet 106 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to handle wireless communication. For example,the tablet 106 may be operable to communicate using Ethernet, WWAN,WLAN, WPAN and/or other communication standards. The tablet 106 may beoperable to handle geolocation services or location based services basedon a sliding scale of different privacy access levels for application onthe tablet 106 that are handled and/or managed by a particularapplication service provider. The tablet 106 may be operable to receivecommunication services such as Internet based services via the serviceprovider 108. The tablet 106 may comprise a GNSS receiver that may beoperable to receive navigational signals from the GNSS 116. Thenavigational signals may be utilized to determine a position and/orlocation of the tablet 106. The determined position and/or location maybe utilized by various applications and/or services to providegeolocation services or location based services that are specific to thetablet 106. In some instances, a location of a neighboring device suchas an access point or router may be known and utilized to determine thelocation of the tablet 106.

The tablet 106 may comprise an operating system platform that comprisesintegrated capability to provide user control over the level ofgeolocation access, other than merely enabling or disabling access togeolocation services. In accordance with various embodiments of thedisclosure, the operating system platform comprises a platform-levelmodule that enables a user of the tablet 106 to select a privacy accesslevel from a sliding scale of different privacy access levels for thevarious geolocation services that may be accessible.

The service provider 108 may comprise suitable devices and/or interfacesthat may be operable to provide Internet based connectivity to variouscommunication devices. For example, the service provider may provideconnectivity utilizing DSL, Cable (DOCSIS), WWAN, WMAN, WLAN, WPANand/or other communication technologies. In this regard, the serviceprovider 108 may provide services to the various communication devicesusing a wired and/or a wireless communication medium. For example, theservice provider 108 may provide Internet services to each of the mobilecommunication device 102, the web-connected television 104 and thetablet 106 utilizing wireless technologies. The service provider 108 mayprovide Internet services to the web-connected television 104 utilizinga wired and/or wireless medium. The service provider 108 may comprise acellular, satellite, cable or DSL service provider.

The Internet 110 may comprise suitable devices and interfaces thatenable interconnectivity and communication amongst a network ofcomputers, communication devices and servers. The service provider 108may be operable to provide service to the Internet 110 for each of themobile communication devices 102, the web-connected television 104 andthe tablet 106. The Internet 110 and the Cloud 112 may host one or moreapplication servers and/or content servers that may enable users of themobile device 102, the web-connected television 104 and the tablet 106to access various services and/or content.

The Cloud 112 may host one or more servers such as the store applicationserver 114 that may enable users of the mobile device 102, theweb-connected television 104 and/or the tablet 106 to access variousservices and/or content that may be stored within the Cloud 112. Forexample, the store application server 114 may serve the content to themobile device 102, the web-connected television 104 and/or the tablet106 in order to enable corresponding users of these devices to download,purchase, manipulate and/or interact with the content. The content inthe Cloud 112 may be accessible to the mobile device 102 and theweb-connected television 104 via the Internet 110.

The store application server 114 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to serve and/or storeapplications and/or video game related information. The storeapplication server 114 may be operated by an application serviceprovider (ASP) 120, which may rent, sell, and/or provide for free,applications and/or content which may be accessible by the mobilecommunication device 102, the web-connected television 104 and/or thetablet 106. The application service provider 120 may be operable tohandle and/or manage its applications and/or content that may bedownloaded and/or be running on the mobile communication device 102, theweb-connected television 104 and/or the tablet 106. Exemplary contentmay comprise books, magazines and other literature, music, games, video,and so on. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the store applicationserver 114 may be operable to store accounting as well correspondinginformation that may be related to applications, and/or content that maybe downloaded from the store application server 114 and/or may berunning on the mobile communication device 102, the web-connectedtelevision 104 and/or the tablet 106. The application service provider120 may utilize the store application server 114, which may be locatedin the Cloud 112, to keep a record of the applications, and/or contentthat may be rented to, purchased by or given for free to a particularuser to enable subsequent installation, updates, re-installs on one ormore of the mobile communication device 102, the web-connectedtelevision 104 and/or the tablet 106, and/or other devices utilized by acorresponding user.

The application service provider 120 may utilize the store applicationserver 114 to gather information from the mobile communication device102, the web-connected television 104 and/or the tablet 106 in order toprovide specialized services associated to these devices. For example,the store application server 114 may be operable to acquire locationinformation from one or more of the mobile communication device 102, theweb-connected television 104 and/or the tablet 106 in order to providelocalized advertisements when certain applications are being run on thecorresponding devices. The acquired location information may also beutilized to determine demographical information for the correspondingdevice locations. The web server 118 may be operable to provide servicesas well as content to the mobile communication device 102, theweb-connected television 104 and/or the tablet 106.

The global navigation satellite system 116 may comprise a plurality oforbiting satellites that may be operable to provide navigationalsignals. The communication devices such as the mobile communicationdevice 102 and the tablet 106 may comprise one or more subsystems thatmay be utilized to provide location services. For example, the mobilecommunication device 102 and/or the tablet 106 may comprise a GNSSreceiver that may be utilized to determine a location of the mobilecommunication device 102 and/or the tablet 106, respectively. Theweb-connected television 104 may or may not comprise a GNSS receiver.

The web server 118 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to serve content comprising multimediadata, games, applications, books, merchandise and so on. Multimedia datamay comprise text, audio, video, games, books, literature and otherforms of data. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the store applicationserver 114 may be operable to store accounting as well correspondinginformation that may be related to content that may be served by the webserver 118. The web server 118 may be operable to utilize informationgathered from the mobile communication device 102, the web-connectedtelevision 104 and/or the tablet 106 in order to provide specializedservices associated to these devices. For example, the web server 118may be operable to acquire location information from one or more of themobile communication device 102, the web-connected television 104 and/orthe tablet 106 in order to provide localized advertisements whenbrowsing or when certain applications are being run on the correspondingdevices.

In operation, one or more of the mobile communication device 102, theweb-connected television 104 and/or the tablet 106 may be operable torun an application that may be downloaded from the store applicationserver 114 or run an application that may otherwise be located on theeach of the mobile communication device 102, the web-connectedtelevision 104 and/or the tablet 106. The application may be managedand/or handled by the application service provider 120 that controlsoperation of the store application server 114. A user of, for example,the mobile communication device 102 may have previously configured themobile communication device 102 by selecting one of the privacy accesslevels from the sliding scale of different privacy access levels. Theselected privacy access level may serve as the current privacy accesslevel for applications running on the mobile communication device 102,which are managed and/or handled by the application service provider 120for the various geolocation services.

A user of the web-connected television 104 may be utilizing anapplication from the application service provider 120 to browse theInternet and may access a website on the Internet 110 that requires thelocation of the web-connected television 104 in order to provide contentand/or advertisements that may be associated with that location. The webserver 118, which may be serving the web page, may request permissionfrom the web-connected television 104 to acquire the location of theweb-connected television 104. Once the request for permission isreceived, the request may be processed in accordance with the currentaccess level privacy setting on the web-connected television for thatapplication, which is handled and/or managed by the application serviceprovider 120.

The request may be handled in a manner that may be consistent with thecurrent privacy access level setting. In one example, the user may havepreviously utilized the sliding scale of different privacy access levelsfor the various geolocation services to configure the current privacyaccess level for applications handled by that application serviceprovider to provide anonymous location reporting. In this regard, theapplication is allowed to access the location of the web-connectedtelevision 104 and send the corresponding anonymous location data to theweb server 118. In another example, the user may have previouslyutilized the sliding scale of different privacy access levels for thevarious geolocation services to configure the current privacy accesslevel for applications handled by that application service provider toprovide non-anonymous location reporting. In this regard, theapplication is allowed to access the current location of theweb-connected television 104 but the browser and/or the web-server 118do not save the corresponding location data.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates example remote services and amobile communication device that is operable to provide user controlover the level of geolocation access, in accordance with an embodimentof the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a mobilecommunication device 202, a store application server 230 and a webserver 240. The mobile communication device 202 comprises an operatingsystem (OS) platform 204, a processor 208, memory 210, display 212,keypad controller 214, a transceiver 216 and a GNSS receiver 217. The OSplatform 204 comprises a local store application module 206. The mobilecommunication device 202 may also comprise a microphone, speaker and acamera, which are collectively referenced as devices 218. The storeapplication server 230 may comprise a store application 232 and the webserver 240 may comprise a web server application 242.

The mobile communication device 202 may comprise suitable logiccircuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicateutilizing one or more wired and/or wireless technologies. In an exampleembodiment of the disclosure, the mobile communication device 202 maycommunicate wirelessly utilizing 802.11 a/b/g/n/e, 802.16, 3G, 4G, andBluetooth. In one embodiment of the disclosure, the mobile communicationdevice 202 may comprise a smartphone or a tablet. The mobilecommunication device 202 may comprise an OS platform 204 that isoperable to handle the sliding scale of different privacy access levelsfor the various geolocation or location based services.

The OS platform 204 may comprise suitable logic, interfaces and/or codethat may be operable to control operation of the mobile communicationdevice 202. For example, the OS platform 204 may enable a user tointeract with mobile communication device 202 and to run or executeapplications, and configure settings for the mobile communication device202. The OS platform 204 may comprise a local store application module206 which may be operable to handle the sliding scale of differentprivacy access levels for the various geolocation or location basedservices.

The local store application module 206 is integrated as part of the OSplatform 204 and may comprise suitable logic, interfaces and/or codethat may be operable to provide the sliding scale of different privacyaccess levels for the various geolocation or location based services. Inthis regard, the local store application module 206 is not anapplication that runs on the operating system platform 204, but instead,is integrated as part of the operating system platform 204. In anexample embodiment of the disclosure, the local store application module206 may enable a user of the mobile communication device 202 to selectfrom a plurality of different privacy access levels which ranges from aprivacy access level setting that is disabled to a privacy access levelthat is fully enabled, with one or more privacy access level settingstherebetween. For example, the local store application module 206 may beoperable to provide the sliding scale of a plurality of privacy accesslevel settings in which there may be no access to geolocation services,anonymous one-time access to the geolocation services, non-anonymousone-time access to the geolocation services and ongoing access to thegeolocation services.

The processor 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces,and/or code that may be operable to execute code or otherwise controloperation of the mobile communication device 202. For example, theprocessor 208 may be operable to control the OS platform 204, the localstore application 206, the memory 210, the display 212, thekeypad/controller 214, the transceiver 216, the GNSS receiver 217 and/orthe devices 218. In accordance with various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor 208 may be operable to handle operations ofthe local store application 206, which may be utilized to provide thesliding scale of the plurality of privacy access level settings. Forexample, the processor 208 may be operable to detect when there may be arequest to access the location of the mobile communication device 202.Accordingly, the processor 208 may be operable to execute code for thelocal store application 206 in order to determine the current privacyaccess level setting. The processor 208 may be operable to handle therequest based on the determined current privacy access level setting.

The processor 208 may comprise one or more general purpose processors(e.g., microprocessors) and/or one or more special purpose processors(e.g., DSPs, GPUs, FPUs, network processors, or ASICs). The processor208 may be capable of executing program instructions (e.g., compiled ornon-compiled program logic and/or machine code) stored in the memory 210to carry out the various functions described herein.

The memory 210 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces,and/or code that may be operable to store operating and temporary datafor the mobile communication device 202. For example, the memory 210 maybe enabled to store configurations and operating data for the mobilecommunication device 202. The memory 210 may be operable to store OSplatform information and data, as well as data utilized by the localstore application 206 for the sliding scale of the plurality of privacyaccess level settings.

The display 212 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces,and/or code that may be operable to display a user interface thatenables a user to interact with the mobile communication device 202. Forexample, the display 212 may be utilized to configure the mobilecommunication device 202 as well as provide user interaction with themobile communication device 202. In this regard, the display 212 mayprovide visual and/or touch interaction for the mobile communicationdevice 202. The display 212 may comprise LED, LCD or variants thereof.

The keypad controller 214 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to control and manipulatethe communication device 202. In this regard, the keypad controller 214may be utilized to control applications, which may be running on themobile communication device 202 in order to interact with displaycontent. The keypad controller 214 may comprise a physical set of keysor buttons, and/or a software generated set of keys.

The transceiver 216 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces,and/or code that may be operable to wireless communication for themobile communication device 202. For example, the transceiver 216 may beoperable to handle wireless technologies such as 802.11 a/b/g/n/e,802.16, 3G, 4G, and Bluetooth. Although a single transceiver is shown,there may be a plurality of transceivers to handle a plurality ofwireless communication technologies for different networks ranging fromwireless wide area networks (WWANs), wireless medium area networks(WMANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), and personal areanetworks (PANs).

The mobile communication device 202 may also comprise a microphone,speaker and a camera, which are collectively referenced as devices 218.The microphone and camera may be operable to capture video and/orcorresponding audio that may be associated with content being handled bythe mobile communication device 202. The speaker may be utilized to playaudio or provide sounds to aid input or interaction. In instances wherethe mobile communication device 202 is a smartphone, the microphone,speaker and/or camera 218 may be integrated as part of the smartphone.

The store application server 230 may comprise suitable logic circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide a store serviceto the mobile communication device 202. In this regard, the storeapplication server 230 may be operable to provide paid or freeapplications and/or content to the mobile communication device 202. Thestore application server 230 may be substantially similar to the storeapplication server 114, which is illustrated in FIG. 1. The storeapplication server 230 may control the application service provider 120.

The store application 232 may comprise suitable logic circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to handle the operation ofthe store application server 230. For example, the store application 232may be utilized to handle various accounting tasks, and keep a record ofand/or manage applications and/or content handled by the storeapplication server 230. In this regard, the store application 232 maykeep a record of applications and manage applications for theapplication service provider 120, which may have been downloaded fromthe store application server 230 to the mobile communication device 202.

The web server 240 may comprise suitable logic circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to provide applications and/or contentto the mobile communication device 202. For example, the web server 240may be operable to host various web sites that offer various types ofInternet based services which may be accessible via the applications. Inthis regard, the web server 240 may be operable to provide various paidor free applications and/or content to the mobile communication device202 utilizing the corresponding applications, which are downloaded tothe mobile communication device 202.

The web server application 242 may comprise suitable logic circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to handle the operations ofthe store application server 230. For example, the web serverapplication 242 may be utilized to handle various accounting tasks, andkeep a record of and/or manage applications and/or content handled bythe web server 240. The web server application 242 may also be operableto request the location of the mobile communication device 202 in orderto provide various services and/or perform certain tasks for the mobilecommunication device 202.

In operation, a user of the mobile communication device 202 mayconfigure the privacy access level setting for geolocation or locationbased settings for applications that may be handled and/or managed bythe application service provider 120 through the store applicationserver 230. In this regard, the user may select a privacy access levelsetting from the sliding scale of different privacy access levels toserve as the current privacy access level for the applications for thevarious geolocation or location based services. The sliding scale ofdifferent privacy access levels may comprise, for example, no access togeolocation services, anonymous one-time access to the geolocationservices, non-anonymous one-time access to the geolocation services andongoing access to the geolocation services. The no access to geolocationsettings is on one end of the sliding scale of the privacy access levelsand disables access to the geolocation settings. The ongoing access tothe geolocation services is at the other end of the sliding scale of theprivacy access levels. The other privacy access levels may fall betweenthe no access to geolocation settings and the ongoing access togeolocation settings. The selected privacy access level setting mayremain as the current privacy access level setting until it is changed.In some instances, if no privacy access level is selected, one of thedifferent privacy access level settings on the sliding scale ofdifferent privacy access levels may be assigned as a default privacyaccess level setting.

A user of the mobile communication device 202 may launch the local storeapplication 206, which may access a web based service provided by awebsite that may be hosted by the web server 240. The local storeapplication 206 may be an application that may be handled and/or managedby the application service provider 120 through the store applicationserver 230. The web server application 242 may handle the web basedservice that is provided by the website. The web server application 242may request the location of the mobile communication device 202 from themobile communication device 202. The location application 206 mayreceive the request and determine the current privacy access levelsetting for the mobile communication device 202. Once the locationapplication 206 determines the current privacy access level setting forthe mobile communication device 202, the processor 208 may be operableto process the request in accordance with the determined current privacyaccess level setting. If the determined current privacy access levelsetting is anonymous location reporting, the web browser is allowed toaccess the location of the web-connected television 104 and send thecorresponding anonymous location data to the web server 118. If thedetermined current privacy access level setting is a non-anonymouslocation reporting, then the web browser is allowed to access thecurrent location of the web-connected television 104 but the browserand/or the web-server 118 do not save the corresponding location data.As noted above, users of the communication device may elect not toparticipate in non-anonymous data collection, as well as data reporting,such as location data reporting.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates example privacy access levelsettings for geolocation services on a communication device, inaccordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. Referring to FIG.3, there is shown a figure 300 comprising an application serviceprovider (ASP) settings page 302. The application service providersettings page 302 may comprise a privacy access level sliding bar 304, aslider 306 and a delete location history button 310. The privacy accesslevel sliding bar 304 may comprise a plurality of privacy access levelsettings 308A, 308B, 308C and 308D, which may be collectively referencedas 308.

The application service provider settings page 302 may provide settingsfor one or more of the applications on a communication device such asthe mobile communication device 202, which may be handled or managed bythe application service provider 120 through the store applicationserver 230.

The privacy access level sliding bar 304 may comprise a sliding bar thatenables a user to select one of the privacy access level settings 308A,308B, 308C and 308D as the current privacy level setting for theapplications on the communication device that are handled and/or managedby the application service provider.

The slider 306 on the privacy access level sliding bar 304 is utilizedto select and designate the selected or current privacy access levelsetting. Referring to FIG. 3, the slider 306 designates the“non-anonymous one-time access” setting 308C as the current privacyaccess level setting.

The privacy access level setting 308A comprises a “disable access to mylocation” setting. This setting disables access to the communicationdevices' location for geolocation and/or location based services.Accordingly, a request for location information for a communicationdevice will be denied.

The privacy access level setting 308B comprise an “anonymous one-timeaccess” setting. This setting allows anonymous location data to be sentto the application service provider for the applications on thecommunication device that are managed and/or handled by the applicationservice provider.

The privacy access level setting 308C comprise a “non-anonymous one-timeaccess” setting. This setting allows applications on the communicationdevice that are handled by the application service provider to accessthe current location of the communication device without savingcorresponding location data.

The privacy access level setting 308D comprise an “ongoing locationhistory” setting. This setting allows location history as well ascurrent location information to be provided to the application serviceprovider as well as being shared among other applications on thecommunication device that are handled and/or managed by the applicationservice provider.

The delete location history button 310 is utilized to clear or deletethe location history for the applications on the communication devicethat are managed and/or handled by the application service provider.

FIG. 4 is a diagram that illustrates example privacy access levelsettings for geolocation services on a communication device, inaccordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. Referring to FIG.4, there is shown a figure 400 comprising an application serviceprovider (ASP) settings page 402. The application service providersettings page 402 may comprise a privacy access level sliding bar 404, aslider 406 and a delete location history button 410. The privacy accesslevel sliding bar 404 may comprise a plurality of privacy access levelsettings 408A, 408B, 408C and 408D, which may be collectively referencedas 408.

The application service provider settings page 402 may provide settingsfor one or more of the applications on a communication device such asthe mobile communication device, which are handled or managed by theapplication service provider.

The privacy access level sliding bar 404 may comprise a sliding bar thatenables a user to select one of the privacy access level settings 408A,408B, 408C and 408D as the current privacy level settings for theapplications on the communication device that are handled and/or managedby the application service provider.

The slider 406 on the privacy access level sliding bar 404 is utilizedto select and designate the selected or current privacy access levelsetting. Referring to FIG. 4, the slider 406 designates the “Only ReportCurrent Location” setting 408C as the current privacy access levelsetting.

The privacy access level setting 408A comprises a “Disable Access To MyLocation” setting. This setting disables the application serviceproviders' applications access to the communication devices' locationfor geolocation and/or location based services. This setting does notdisable 3^(rd) party applications' access to the location of thecommunication device, which may be controlled through other systemsettings or individual application settings.

The privacy access level setting 408B comprises an “Anonymous LocationReporting” setting. This setting allows anonymous location data to besent to the application service provider for the applications on thecommunication device that are managed and/or handled by the applicationservice provider. This setting may also allow permitted applications touse data from other sources such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and mobile networksto determine approximate location. For example, location may bedetermined from a neighboring device such as an access point or othercommunication device whose location may be known and/or fixed.

The privacy access level setting 408C comprises an “Only Report CurrentLocation” setting. This setting allows applications to access thecurrent location of the communication device but does not save thelocation history.

The privacy access level setting 408D comprises a “Save LocationHistory” setting. With this setting, the location history is notpublicly visible or accessible or shared with friends. This locationhistory is only available to applications on the communication devicethat are handled and/or managed by the application service provider.

The delete location history button 410 is utilized to clear or deletethe location history for the applications on the communication devicethat are managed and/or handled by the application service provider.

FIG. 5 is a diagram that illustrates example privacy access levelsettings for geolocation services on a communication device, inaccordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. Referring to FIG.5, there is shown a figure 500 comprising an application serviceprovider (ASP) settings page 502. The application service providersettings page 502 may comprise a privacy access level sliding bar 504,an indicator 506 and a delete location history button 510. The privacyaccess level sliding bar 504 may comprise a plurality of privacy accesslevel settings 508A, 508B, 508C and 508D, which may be collectivelyreferenced as 508.

The application service provider (ASP) settings page 502 may besubstantially similar to the application service provider (ASP) settingspage 402 of FIG. 4. However, instead of the privacy access level slidingbar 404 and the slider 406, which are shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 showscircular icons next to each of the privacy access level settings 508A,508B, 508C and 508D. When a privacy access level setting is selected asthe current privacy access level setting, the icon is shaded or filledin as illustrated with the indicator 506. In this regard, the “AnonymousLocation Reporting” setting 508B is the current privacy access levelsetting.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart that illustrates example functions forcontrolling access to geolocation services utilizing a sliding scale ofprivacy access levels, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. Referring to FIG. 6, there are shown example functions 602through 610. In block 602, a user of a communication device may select aprivacy access level from a sliding scale of a plurality of differentprivacy access levels for applications on the communication device thatare handled and/or managed by a particular application service provider.This may occur when one or more applications are being installed and/orupdated, and/or whenever an action to change corresponding settings forthe one or more applications is detected. In block 604, the selectedprivacy access level may be designated as the current privacy accesslevel setting for geolocation services and for the applications on thecommunication device that are handled and/or managed by the particularapplication service provider. In block 606, a user of the communicationdevice accesses a remote service, for example, a website, and the remoteservice requests the location of the communication device. In block 608,the communication device receives the request and processes the requestbased on the designated current privacy access level. In step 610, theremote service is granted or denied access to the location of thecommunication device based on the designated current privacy accesslevel.

In certain embodiments of the disclosure, a communication device such asthe mobile communication device 202 may be operable to control access togeolocation services for one or more applications utilizing more thantwo privacy access level settings. The privacy access level settings maycomprise a first privacy access level setting that, when selected,enables access to geolocation services, a second privacy access levelsetting that, when selected, disables access to geolocation services,and at least one third privacy access level setting that is intermediateto the first privacy access level setting and the second privacy accesslevel setting. The at least one third privacy access level setting, whenselected, enables one time access to geolocation services for thecommunication device. For the first privacy access level setting, 308D,access to geolocation services is on and for the second privacy accesslevel setting, 308A, access to geolocation services is off. For the atleast one third privacy access level setting, 308B, 308C, one timeaccess to geolocation services for the communication device is enabled.The one or more applications comprise applications on the communicationdevice 202 that are handled and/or managed by a particular applicationservice provider. The at least one third privacy access level settingcomprises an anonymous one-time access 308B and a non-anonymous one-timeaccess 308C.

One or more dialogs, one or more radio buttons and/or a graphicalinterface may be generated on a display 212 of the communication device202 to enable selection of the first privacy access level setting, thesecond privacy access level setting, and the at least one third privacyaccess level setting. The generated one or more dialogs, one or moreradio buttons and/or graphical interfaces may be provided on the display212 of the mobile communication device 202 when the one or moreapplications are being installed and/or updated, and/or when an actionto change corresponding settings for the one or more applications isdetected. Information corresponding to the first privacy access levelsetting, the second privacy access level setting, and the at least onethird privacy access level setting may be stored in the memory 210 inorder to create a history of prior privacy access level settings foreach of the one or more applications. A particular one of the firstprivacy access level setting, the second privacy access level setting,and the at least one third privacy access level setting 308A, 308B,308C, 308D may be assigned by the processor 208 to be utilized for theone or more applications based on the history of prior privacy accesslevel settings. A particular one of the one or more privacy access levelsettings 308A, 308B, 308C, 308D may be assigned as a default privacyaccess level setting for the one or more applications. The defaultprivacy access level setting may be assigned to each of the one or moreapplications when none of the one or more privacy access level settingsis selected to be utilized as a corresponding privacy access levelsetting for each of the one or more applications on the communicationdevice that are handled and/or managed by the particular applicationservice provider.

Example embodiments of the disclosure may provide a machine or computerreadable device, having stored thereon instructions executable by amachine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or computerto perform the functions as described herein for user control over thelevel of geolocation access.

Accordingly, the present disclosure may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentdisclosure may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present disclosure may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference tocertain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes may be made and equivalents may be substitutedwithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition,many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation ormaterial to the teachings of the present disclosure without departingfrom its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosurenot be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that thepresent disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: on a communication device:controlling access to geolocation services for one or more applicationsutilizing multiple privacy access level settings, the multiple privacyaccess level settings including: a first privacy access level settingthat, when selected, enables access to said geolocation services; asecond privacy access level setting that, when selected, disables accessto said geolocation services; and at least one third privacy accesslevel setting that is intermediate to said first privacy access levelsetting and said second privacy access level setting, said at least onethird privacy access level setting, that when selected, enables one timeaccess to said geolocation services for said communication device. 2.The method according to claim 1, wherein said one time access to saidgeolocation services comprises an anonymous one-time access and anon-anonymous one-time access.
 3. The method according to claim 1,further comprising providing one or more dialogs, one or more radiobuttons and/or a graphical interface that enables selection of saidfirst privacy access level setting, said second privacy access levelsetting and said at least one third privacy access level setting.
 4. Themethod according to claim 3, further comprising providing said one ormore dialogs, said one or more radio buttons and/or said graphicalinterface when: said one or more applications are being installed and/orupdated; and an action to change corresponding settings for said one ormore applications is detected.
 5. The method according to claim 1,further comprising storing information corresponding to one or moreprior privacy access level settings to create a history of prior privacyaccess level settings for said one or more applications.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 5, further comprising assigning a particular one ofsaid first privacy access level setting, said second privacy accesslevel setting and said at least one third privacy access level settingto be utilized for said one or more applications based on said historyof prior privacy access level settings.
 7. The method according to claim1, further comprising: defining a particular one of said first privacyaccess level setting, said second privacy access level setting and saidat least one third privacy access level setting as a default privacyaccess level setting for said one or more applications; and assigningsaid default privacy access level setting to said one or moreapplications when none of said one or more privacy access level settingsis selected to be utilized as a corresponding privacy access levelsetting for said one or more applications.
 8. A system, comprising: atleast one processor for use in a communication device; and data storagecomprising instructions executable by the at least one processor tocause the system to perform functions comprising: controlling access togeolocation services for one or more applications utilizing multipleprivacy access level settings, the multiple privacy access levelsettings including: a first privacy access level setting that, whenselected, enables access to said geolocation services, a second privacyaccess level setting that, when selected, disables access to saidgeolocation services, and at least one third privacy access levelsetting that is intermediate to said first privacy access level settingand said second privacy access level setting, said at least one thirdprivacy access level setting, that when selected, enables one timeaccess to said geolocation services for said communication device. 9.The system according to claim 8, wherein said one time access to saidgeolocation services comprises an anonymous one-time access and anon-anonymous one-time access.
 10. The system according to claim 8, thefunctions further comprising: providing one or more dialogs, one or moreradio buttons and/or a graphical interface that enables selection ofsaid first privacy access level setting, said second privacy accesslevel setting and said at least one third privacy access level setting.11. The system according to claim 10, the functions further comprising:providing said one or more dialogs, said one or more radio buttonsand/or said graphical interface when: said one or more applications arebeing installed and/or updated, and an action to change correspondingsettings for said one or more applications is detected.
 12. The systemaccording to claim 8, the functions further comprising: storinginformation corresponding to one or more prior privacy access levelsettings to create a history of prior privacy access level settings forsaid one or more applications.
 13. The system according to claim 12, thefunctions further comprising: assigning a particular one of said firstprivacy access level setting, said second privacy access level settingand said at least one third privacy access level setting to be utilizedfor said one or more applications based on said history of prior privacyaccess level settings.
 14. The system according to claim 8, thefunctions further comprising: defining a particular one of said firstprivacy access level setting, said second privacy access level settingand said at least one third privacy access level setting as a defaultprivacy access level setting for said one or more applications; andassigning said default privacy access level setting to said one or moreapplications when none of said one or more privacy access level settingsis selected to be utilized as a corresponding privacy access levelsetting for said one or more applications.
 15. A computer readabledevice having stored thereon instructions, that when executed by acomputing device, cause the computing device to perform functionscomprising: controlling access to geolocation services for one or moreapplications utilizing multiple privacy access level settings, themultiple privacy access level settings including: a first privacy accesslevel setting that, when selected, enables access to said geolocationservices; a second privacy access level setting that, when selected,disables access to said geolocation services; and at least one thirdprivacy access level setting that is intermediate to said first privacyaccess level setting and said second privacy access level setting, saidat least one third privacy access level setting, that when selected,enables one time access to said geolocation services for saidcommunication device.
 16. The computer readable device according toclaim 15, wherein said one time access to said geolocation servicescomprises an anonymous one-time access and a non-anonymous one-timeaccess.
 17. The computer readable device according to claim 15, thefunctions further comprising: providing one or more dialogs, one or moreradio buttons and/or a graphical interface that enables selection ofsaid first privacy access level setting, said second privacy accesslevel setting and said at least one third privacy access level setting.18. The computer readable device according to claim 17, the functionsfurther comprising: providing said one or more dialogs, said one or moreradio buttons and/or said graphical interface when: said one or moreapplications are being installed and/or updated; and an action to changecorresponding settings for said one or more applications is detected.19. The computer readable device according to claim 15, the functionsfurther comprising: storing information corresponding to one or moreprior privacy access level settings to create a history of prior privacyaccess level settings for said one or more applications.
 20. Thecomputer readable device according to claim 19, the functions furthercomprising: assigning a particular one of said first privacy accesslevel setting, said second privacy access level setting and said atleast one third privacy access level setting to be utilized for said oneor more applications based on said history of prior privacy access levelsettings.